Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness

Wave of Light - October 15th - Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness and Remembrance.

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
At 7pm candles have been lit, all over the world.  To remember.  Whether people be remembering their own losses (like I have) or the losses suffered by friends or family (which I have also done).  A community of love and support.  It's not too late to light a candle, if you'd like. <3

101 in 1001 is coming along.  Nothing completely scratched off (to my satisfaction) yet, but I have started on some of them, which is nice!  Little things to look forward to, of course.  I get to scratch my first one off completely tomorrow - we're going Whale Watching!!!!  I'm really excited to take the kids - it will be their first time on a boat.  I hope we get to see some whales... but I know regardless, it will be an awesome day.

Other progress - I completed the first of 15 books today (True Believer by Nicholas Sparks).
I am on a bit of a Nicholas Sparks kick and so have now started Safe Haven, another of his titles.  Call me a sucker for a trashy romance novel.  Better than the 50 Shades Saga - surely?!

Wednesday night we will pack the car up and Thursday morning we head off on the first leg of our holiday.  We will be stopping a bit north of Sydney to see Bonnie and Nafe on Thursday night, and then Friday we'll head to Canberra.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone - and of course going to Canberra.  Excited to take Alexis as she's not been since she was 7 months old.  I will probably update along the way (hopefully with family photos on state borders!) but am looking forward to the much needed break with my little family!

Ruffled Camera Strap (11)

Sew or handmake something useful for myself.  This was goal number 11.  Still is goal number 11 as I still have more things to make - not that I've decided what they'll be.
I set this goal because I have this perfectly wonderful, totally underappreciated sewing machine that has sat in a box since we moved here.  8 months!!!!  Yeah, I nagged for that sewing machine, would you believe!?  So with my new and improved 'office' space, I actually have room for my sewing machine to live, sans box, all set up and usable whenever I so happen to get the itch.  Of course I had to remove what could only be described as a pile of crap from the desk to make space, but hey - I did.  And then, I ditched actual work to sew something because I had the itch.

Following this tutorial here I made a camera strap.  Mine has been rubbing/digging in to the back of my neck and with a heavy camera around my neck it was uncomfortable and I wasn't wanting to use the neckstrap (which for the safety of newborn babies - I have to!)  I was going be lazy and buy a new one, but decided that the dollars were probably better spent elsewhere.  So I figured I'd just make one and this tutorial seemed simple enough.  I don't follow patterns well, I need simple and easy instructions.  After this I decided I don't like gathering and I'm not very good at sewing in straight lines.  Anything requiring a visible top stitch?  Best leave that for people with co-ordination I'd say!

My dodgy phone/instagram pic!  

This project cost me about $1 in total and approx 2 hours of my time (I'm slow, sue me!).  I picked up the material at spotlight for $3 for a half metre piece.  I used about a third of it.  I didn't use enough thread to make a note of the cost of that, haha.   I like it (and am proud of myself hahah), although I don't think it's going to entice Ty to carry/wear my camera around his neck as it may turn him in to a giant girl.  It slides on and, if I am game enough I can make a few and then chop and change as I go.  Might have to get some more manly material perhaps.

New York Baked Cheesecake

Goal #35 is to try 20 new recipes.  It is fairly safe to say that I have a stock-standard week-to-week stash of recipes and the repetition is starting to get old, quickly!  9 people live here, and I am the one who does most of the cooking because I love to cook, and I'm generally here most nights.  I also hated doing dishes for a while there but that's not so bad since discovering how long it can take at times to cook for this many people!  My desserts on rotation consist of custard, custard and bananas, self saucing chocolate pudding and apple crumble.  If I'm feeling particularly fancy, you may get peach and apple crumble.  You know, just for something different!

One absolutely delicious piece of cheesecake - so creamy, so yummy!  Job well done, if I do say so myself!

I recently found a recipe for New York Baked Cheesecake (here) and put it in my favourites to come back to.  This usually means that I forget about it.
That said, this was New York Baked Cheesecake - my favourite.  I kept going back to it.  I've never baked a cheesecake in my life, though have had a few (dodgy) attempts at the refridgerated types.  My old house had an oven that doubled as a food-murderer.  This house, not so bad!  Why now.  So last night at 10pm (naturally) I found myself you know, just whipping up a cheesecake.  As you do!
Here is what I learned - I should never have given away my food processor. Using the end of a rolling pin is just so time consuming!

For me - I love a nice thick base, so like the original blogger I thieved the recipe from, I also doubled the biscuits/butter.  It could easily have done without that though and I probably will in the future.  I served it up to 10 willing taste-testers (we had an add-on!) and the verdict came in the form of clean plates.  Even Ty - the cheesecake hater (how are we even compatible!) ate his entire plateful.
So for someone who is particularly crap at baking cakes and sweets - this one turned out fantastically.  Give it a go - it's easy, and it's delicious.

Ingredients

1 x 250g packet of plain sweet biscuits {Nice}
125g unsalted butter, melted
750g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 tbs plain flour
4 eggs
1 x 300ml carton of sour cream

Method

♥ Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line the base of a 23cm based springform round tin with non-stick baking paper.
♥ Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. If you don’t have a food processor just put a small hole in the biscuit packet and crush them with a rolling pin and then pour into a bowl.
♥ Add the butter and process until combined. Place into the tin and with the back of a spoon smooth out the base and sides. Place into the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for 30 minutes to chill.
♥ While the base is chilling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in a bowl. Add the flour and the eggs, beating well after adding each. Stir in the sour cream until just combined.
♥ Pour the cream cheese mixture into the base. Place in the oven and bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Once cooked, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in the oven until it cools completely {about 2 hours}. Place in the fridge for up to 4 hours to chill.

Ready... Set... Go!

Today I begin my Mission 101.
I probably won't do anything from my list today (although it couldn't hurt!) - but it is a start date.  I have 1001 days to complete my goals, or what I can of them, taking me to Friday July 3rd 2015.
Some goals are small, some goals are big.  Some are probably silly to some, but to me, they're just things I want to do.  Certainly there are goals that are more important than others, as well.  And if I don't do them all, I'm ok with that.  I can easily start another list of 101 things and carry them over.

I've wanted to do 101 in 1001 for about oh, 1005 or so days now.  I was inspired by an online friend, Bec when she started hers back in 2010, and had the best of intentions to do it.  She's now completed her Mission 101, and I am now starting - procrastination FTW!  I did get to help her in one of her goals though, of meeting 5 of her online friends.  This is actually a goal of mine.  I have kept an online diary, and participated in mothers forums and photography groups online and I have a vast number of friends that I feel incredibly close to, and blessed to know - who I have never even met.  I actually get to meet one of them next week!

The concept behind Mission 101 has come about because of the Day Zero Project - a community of people achieving all sorts of wonderful and whacky things.  I chose against documenting there as it's not my cuppa tea, but have decided to blog about it - for friends to see, for accountability and for a more detailed documentation of what I've been up to and how I am going.  I did source some inspiration from there though, for some of my goals, as well as a variety of other blogs.

Two goals under way
Gratitude Journal & Blog

I do have a few goals that I get to keep up for the duration of Genes on a Mission.  Taking a self portrait once a month (lets hope to see some weightloss in there!?), keeping a 'Gratitude Journal' (I have bought a lovely paper journal for this) for the entire 1001 days, maintaining this blog, saving $10 for every achieved goal.  See - there is motivation.  If I achieve every goal on my list, I will get $1010.00 at the end of it all!   Incentive if I ever did see it!

Some exciting things to look forward to in coming weeks will be crossing whale watching off (getting in before the end of the season!), meeting an online friend, ten pin bowling with Sarah and Craig, and a photo of the family on a state border (if Ty lets me stop the car!!!)

I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!

If there are any goals on my list of 101 things that you think you can help me achieve, or any experiences you want to share in - get in touch!  I would love to be able to share this journey with other people, as well as with Ty and my babies.

Getting Ready

In the beginning, there was a blog.
A shell of one, anyway.
I'm about to embark on Mission 101 in 1001.  101 goals, set by me - some big and some small - to be completed in 1001 days.  I've decided that I want to blog this little adventure and, have been battling the blog to make it look... well... readable would be a good start, I suppose!?  So as I work out my gadgets and work out my start and finish date, bare with me.  As I am going to get this started eventually!